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Does success at work = happiness?

EmilieT
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Hi everyone, 

 

With each New Year, most of us take a moment to take a look at where we are, what we've achieved and what we want to achieve. This focus on one's career path is very logical, as we all spend most of our lives at work, but how much prominence should it have in our search for happiness? I found this interesting article that looks at what success at work can mean, and whether successful people are the happiest.

 

How important is it for you guys to be successful at work? How do you define this success - is it monetary, or more centred around fulfillment, excitement, and challenges? Do you think your dream job alone could make you happy?

 

                                       Screenshot 2019-01-16 at 09.12.06.png

 

Looking forward to hear your thoughts on this! smiley

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gmarkj
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If you are too unsuccessful at work you might find yourself out of it, so a little success is always required.
As for satisfaction, I always look at whether or not I enjoy what I do and where I work. If the answer is yes then I am generally satisfied.
Obviously the financial incentive is also part of that. The old saying goes that the more you have the more you need is fairly true - above a certain amount then the rest is "disposable" to some extent...

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jonsie
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I wouldn't work anywhere without a little success. Success should equal job satisfaction  All my working life I had advancement through giving my job my all. I started off as a humble apprentice motor mechanic so spent my informative yeasts learning the trade and working my way up to be a service manager of a franchised garage.

On the way I became National Technician of the year  winning a paid holiday for two to Kenya, which led to a managerial role  

However , that success didn't lead to total job satisfaction because ultimately I missed that total joy of pulling an engine to bits or say, an automatic transmission and rebuilding it. Nothing could replace that buzz.

Which is one of the reasons that my hobby outside of work was converting VW Beetles to beach buggies and converting VW vans to camper vans. That replaced if you like,, the success in my day job. 

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MusicIan
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Success and happiness go together like a wall and security. If youre POTUS you might not grasp the irony there, but if youre the Prime Minister of the UK you're a very succesful politician because you have reached the top off the heap.  As to if this leads to happiness...maybe better to leave the question alone for a bit.

 

I'm a musician. Succesful in my own eyes because Ive made some money, had some brilliant laughs and experiences along the way and am a rare beast, a happy and contented person. Ive sat in studios as a session musician and ached for "succesful" people as they disintegrated because they felt their success, as seen by society, slipping away. 

 

Ive worked for people who regreeted success because it stopped them doing what they loved, as mentioned in previous posts.

 

So my two cents is, success is what you and those close to you see in you. Not society.

 

Beware of what you wish for. That should be writ large on the X Factor audition rooms.

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Cleoriff
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Although retired now, I feel the same as @jonsie.

 

A nurse all my working life and loved it. There were good times and bad. Losing a patient is always sad, no matter their age or circumstances.

I worked mainly in Trauma, Orthopaedics and Intensive Care, so people will realise how horrific that can be at times. We worked closely with transplant teams across the country and our patients were the donors, never the recipients.

However, the joy of seeing people improve after our care was unmatched.

 

Then you start working up the career ladder and that brings different highs and lows. Highs when you win awards for the hospital and are responsible for changing systems and training which improve patient care. Obviously it's great when your salary increases and you can live happily with few financial concerns.

 

The downside of moving into nursing management is the loss of contact with patients. I didn't feel that loss immediately as I was delighted to be considered the right person for the challenges of management.

After 14 years and working further 'up the ladder', ultimately being responsible for the management and training of 3200 staff became tiring.

 

I was extremely well paid but the workload was never ending. I was stressed and worn out.

Patient contact was completely lost.

 

When I retired, I was at home being aimless for 2 months. Then I joined a nursing agency. What joy going back to doing the job I was trained to do....looking after patients. I was really happy again.

 

So in my case, success didn't always equate to happiness.

 

 

Veritas Numquam Perit

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EmilieT
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@gmarkj Very wise, it's all about balance isn't it! slight_smile How are you finding your new job now that you've been there for a little while?

 

@jonsie National Technician of the Year open_mouth That's quite an achievement in the field I imagine! As you said it's important to identify what it is that gives you satisfaction in the work, and make sure one way or the other you keep close to that. I know very little about cars, but out of curiosity were VW your favourites to work with then?

 

@MusicIan That's an interesting perspective. Rather than a blanket statement about success leading to happiness it's more about defining success in terms of fullfillment and satisfaction, which by the sound of it you've managed. Do you play locally or tour a bit here and there? 

 

@Cleoriff Your job certainly sounds like a very intense emotionnal roller-coaster, one with a purpose as well. I can't imagine being successfull in that field would lead to total happiness in itself due to the nature of what you deal with on a daily basis, but at the end of the day it's so important to know that you've helped make a difference hugging

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Cleoriff
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@EmilieT

Nursing has change a lot since I was practising. You went into the job because you wanted to nurse. If that meant hard gruelling work then so be it....there were many many good times.

The problem was, once you moved up the so called career ladder, the less actual nursing you did.

It's all fine and dandy being successful. Certainly the increase in pay helps a lot and makes life easier. Losing patient contact is the downside.

 

I was one of those people who thought managers did very little except walk around with clipboards. I soon found out that was a complete fallacy. I would honestly say being a nursing manager, then senior manager and progressing to being Head of Professional Development gave me more headaches, difficulties and stress. 

During this time I did a degree.  I wasn't allowed to do it full time as I was expected to carry on with my job so I completed over 3 years (part time). 

 

So yes it was great when I finished it, also quite an accolade when we won a National Training Award ...but it wasn't hands on nursing.

 

In a nutshell, Nursing gave me complete job satisfaction. Management only gave me some satisfaction and not the same level of happiness.

 

The problem is in todays society, many people go into nursing so that they can become managers. I think that's a sad indictment of the times.

Veritas Numquam Perit

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gmarkj
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I am still enjoying it very much @EmilieT, even if there is always too much to do!

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jonsie
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@EmilieT

I was a time served mechanic but I worked for VW in Bolton and had access to all parts I needed to convert VW vehicles. Beach buggies and campervans were the toys of the era and are still much sort after even now. I didn't make a lot of money out of it because most were done for friends or for mates' rates. It was the complete satisfaction of actually seeing the finished products going up and down the beaches in Southport or seeing the next door neighbour packing his family off for a week's holiday.

Strangely enough, we went through a stage of going off every weekend but it became more of a chore as the kids were getting older. Then there was the lure of 3 weeks motoring holidays across the states. Up and down the East and West coasts and also along the fabled Route 66. Trouble was, that was a bit too much like camping, just driving until we were tired and staying in Motel 6's every night.

With age came the need for relaxation....

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MusicIan
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I keep retiring but people keep offering me work that I can’t turn down.

I try not to travel too far because south of Preston the M6 is just mental.

One lovely event this week made me think about success and happiness.

I sing, play piano and entertain people with dementia and strive to connect with them. I played “loch lomond” on Wednesday as a lament (not as a jolly bloody jig) and a tiny, sweet lady got up and went over to a gentleman who started to dance with her. To stretch it out I played “my love is like a red red rose” as the bridge. It was very moving and I felt choked as well as annoyed that I hadn’t thought of it before.

When I finished there were a few who were quite emotional and they began to discuss Robbie Burns and poetry that moved them. As these people came alive and reminisced, I sat and watched the lights come on in their eyes.

I had done that. I had made it happen. And I was happy because I had made a difference.
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